New Berry test facility confirms recycled materials quality
Berry Global’s plastics recycling facility in Heanor, UK, has opened a Centre of Excellence to further enhance the level of quality evaluation of the recycled material used to produce the company’s Sustane recycled polymer.
The new laboratory facility analyses the material composition of incoming scrap material, resulting in a higher quality of recyclate for use in the manufacture of second life products.
With manufacturers and converters looking to increase their recycled material content in line with the approaching packaging tax, this latest service has been included by Berry to reassure customers, according to Berry Global Technical Director Jagan Mohanraj: “Following Berry Heanor’s successful EUCertPlast accreditation, this new investment in our recycling laboratory facilities helps to ensure the consistency and quality of our Sustane grades, giving our customers the confidence that the performance of their packaging will not be compromised in any way by the inclusion of recycled material. This is particularly essential for packaging used in heavy duty applications such as collation shrink film and collection sacks.”
The Centre of Excellence was officially opened by Amber Valley MP Nigel Mills, who said: “The opening of these new testing facilities is a further example of Berry’s work to achieving true circulatory for plastic packaging, and this is indeed good news both for the environment and the economy of the East Midlands.”
Mohanraj added: “The opening of our Centre for Excellence underlines our commitment to produce recycled material, using our advanced expertise, with the highest levels of technical performance, consistency, quality and traceability. This enables us to help customers meet their sustainability commitments, while still creating packaging solutions that are fit for purpose.”
Berry’s Sustane is a range of premium sustainable polymers made from recycled plastic. The material delivers a high level of technical performance, making it suitable for use in a wide range of applications where previously prime polymer was used.